ADULT PROBATION DEPARTMENT

MISSION STATEMENT

"Instilling Responsibility, Providing Opportunities, Creating a Safer Community"

The Cook County Adult Probation Department is a leader in community corrections, working with the judiciary and the community to create a safer society. We are committed to providing the courts with quality information and to offering viable, cost-effective sentencing and pretrial options. Through a balance of enforcement and treatment strategies, we hold offenders accountable and afford them opportunities to become productive, law-abiding citizens.
 
Teamwork
We are unified in our mission, and all employees are equally important in fulfilling our goals. To be successful, we must openly communicate and cooperate across titles, responsibilities, and organizational structures. Trust, appreciation, understanding, personal accountability, and diversity strengthen our department.
 
We depend not only upon one another but upon vital partnerships with the judiciary, neighborhoods and other criminal justice agencies and service providers. Our responsibility is to educate these groups about probation, to learn from them and to involve them in our activities.
 
Professionalism
Our work significantly affects the quality of life for victims, offenders, families and the community as a whole. We take pride in our jobs and strive for excellence in everything we do. Moreover, we respect the human dignity of each individual. Integrity, fairness and honesty guide our dealings with others.
 
Leadership
We believe in participatory management which fosters initiative and creativity. Managers lead by example and have consistent expectations. We believe in quality training and a responsive and safe working environment; both are conducive to personal and professional growth.
 
As leaders in our field and in the community, our decisions are proactive, grounded in our mission, and guided by experience, research, and program evaluation.